Cookham Discussion Board

Britain could be facing a new wave of Covid infections driven by Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, with three counties in particular seeing a massive surge.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) up to June 2 indicates England and Northern Ireland are starting to see a rise in cases.

However the trends were unclear for Wales and Scotland.

Infection levels are estimated to have risen in London, north-west England and south-east England, with early signs of an increase in eastern England.

Rutland in the East Midlands appears to be have seen the biggest recent surge.

The county, which is bounded to the west and north by Leicestershire, to the northeast by Lincolnshire and the southeast by Northamptonshire, has seen a jump of 233% in cases over the last 14 days.

CATCHING omicron does not protect against a future infection from the Covid variant, scientists at Imperial College have found.

They say their research could explain why Covid cases are remaining stubbornly high.

Throughout the pandemic, research has shown a previous infection provides immunity, often also protecting against other variants.

But the study has found there is virtually no extra immunity boost from omicron, leaving people at risk of being reinfected from the strain.

The study may help explain why cases are continuing to rise even though huge numbers of people have now had Covid.

The latest update from the government’s Coronavirus Dashboard dated June 9 shows Covid cases in England rose 64 per cent in the previous week, while hospitalisations increased by 33 per cent.